2009 Al Anbar VBIED Campaign

Series of Carbomb attacks in Al Anbar province, Iraq following the withdrawal of US forces

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Battles and operations of the Iraq War in Anbar Province

* Fallujah killings
* Desert Scorpion
* Ramadan 2003
* Spring 2004
* Blackwater Ambush
* 1st Fallujah
* 1st Ramadi
* Husaybah
* 2nd Fallujah
* Abu Ghraib
* Matador
* Sayeed
* Hit
* Quick Strike
* Steel Curtain
* Haditha killings
* Desert Shield
* Ramadi Bombing
* 2nd Ramadi
* Ramadan 2006
* Al Majid
* Alljah
* Donkey Island
* 2008 AQI Offensive
* Karmah Bombing
* Abu Kamal
* 2009 AQI Offensive

The 2009 Al Anbar VBIED Campaign were a series of carbomb attacks (including several suicide bombings) throughout Al Anbar Province in the months following the withdrawal of US forces from Iraqi cities on June 30, 2009.[1] In early 2009, U.S. forces began pulling out of cities across the country, turning over the task of maintaining security to the Iraqi Army, police, and their paramilitary allies. Experts and many Iraqis worried that in the absence of U.S. soldiers, AQI might resurface and attempt mass-casualty attacks to destabilize the country.[2] There was indeed a spike in the number of suicide attacks,[3] and through mid and late 2009, al-Qaeda in Iraq rebounded in strength and appeared to be launching a concerted effort to cripple the Iraqi government.[4]

The first attack was on July 15, when six people (including five policemen) were killed and another 19 wounded in Ramadi when a suicide bomber driving a minibus struck a checkpoint of Iraqi soldiers and police.[5] On July 21, a pair of car bombs were simultaneously detonated near a group of restaurants in Ramadi, killing 1-3 people and wounding 13-18. That same day a state of emergency was declared in Ramadi along with vehicle bans both there and in Fallujah.[6] Four days later on July 25, four people were killed and another 12 wounded when a car bomb was detonated outside the offices of the Iraqi Islamic Party in Fallujah.[7] On August 3, two car bombs hit the cities of Haditha and Saqlawiyah. The Haditha bomb targeted a crowded marketplace, killing seven civilians and wounding 20, while the Saqlawiyah attack unsuccessfully targeted the local police chief, but killed two civilians.[8] On September 7, two car bombs were detonated against police checkpoints in Ramadi, killing seven (including three police) and wounding seventeen.[9] Another car bomb attack against a police station in Ramadi on September 27 killed three police and wounded four.[10] On October 6, a suicide car bomb was detonated near a residential compound in Fallujah, killing nine civilians and wounding 30.[11]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Iraq, the unraveling (XVII): what up in Anbar?". Archived from the original on 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2010-02-06.
2. ^ "As US withdraws, will Al Qaeda in Iraq find new openings?". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Archived from the original on 2022-09-01. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
3. ^ "Spike in suicide attacks: Is Al Qaeda in Iraq coming back?". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Archived from the original on 2021-12-18. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
4. ^ Londoño, Ernesto (2009-11-22). "Resurgent al-Qaeda in Iraq seeks to undermine government". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2022-04-23. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
5. ^ "Suicide bomber kills 6 in Iraq's Anbar province". Archived from the original on 2012-10-11. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
6. ^ "Emergency declared in Iraq's Ramadi after bombings". Reuters. 2009-07-21. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
7. ^ "Four killed in Iraq car bombing". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2009-07-25. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
8. ^ Two killed, seven wounded in Iraq suicide car bombing
9. ^ "7 killed, 17 wounded in Ramadi's blast". Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
10. ^ "Ramadi suicide blast leaves 3 policemen killed, 4 wounded". Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
11. ^ "Suicide bombing in Falluja leaves 39 casualties". Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-12-25.

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